Viber will maintain its culture, we don’t want to plaster users with ads: Anubhav Nayyar

Viber, the popular instant messaging and voice app, expects to double its India subscriber base by the end of 2014, from the 17 million now, driven by opportunities from surging smartphone sales, says country head Anubhav Nayyar.

In an email interview with ET, Nayyar said that the app maker won't be changing any of its basic services post its acquisition by Japanese Internet company Rakuten.

He added that the app, which has already seen 300 million downloads globally, will focus on its paid Stickers and voicecall features for revenue, but won't advertise on the app. Edited excerpts:

What opportunity do you see for Viber in India where mobile Internet is just about taking off?

India is among one of our key markets where we have close to 17 million subscribers. We are confident of doubling our subscriber base (by end of 2014). We have seen that the smartphone market has been growing rapidly, presenting an immense opportunity for Viber.

The key for us will be to offer compelling services for both our existing users and users who are entering the smartphone market.

Your views on the likes of Line and WeChat marketing aggressively in India, a strategy that Viber has not used.

We do know that consumer acceptance for our app is very high and it has stayed consistent. We have seen a lot of new players come in, spend a lot of money on marketing and while they do get the initial push, everything eventually dies down.

What does the future hold for Viber, now that it is a part of Rakuten?

Viber will maintain its brand, culture and independence within the Rakuten group, while working closely with other Rakuten services. We do not plan to change any of Viber's basic services like messaging, voice and video.

What is the monetisation strategy of Viber?

There are two sources of revenue within the app — the Sticker Market and Viber Out. The response has been great. We have around 2000 stickers out of which close to 25 per cent are free on mobile.

On desktops, close to 90 per cent of our stickers are free. Our stickers are usually in the price bracket of Rs 120-140. Viber Out is a paid feature that lets users call anywhere across the globe at subsidised prices. Of course, if both users have Viber, then it's completely free.

What other monetising strategies are you working on?

We do not want to plaster our users with advertisements.

Instant messaging and free voice call offerings via apps have become an extremely crowded place. How will Viber keep itself different and at the same time expand its user base?

Viber has always kept metrics such as ergonomics and usability at the core of its product. By that we are not only referring to ease of use, but also a rich and enjoyable user experience.

Features such as Stickers and Doodles ensure that the fun aspect is always there. We have also worked hard to make sure that we are available across multiple technologies and platforms — from a range of mobile platforms to PCs and tablets.

The fact that we have grown organically to over 300 million users without any marketing effort is a testament to our philosophy.

Can you share some current subscriber or download figures?

We currently have 300 million subscribers globally in 193 countries.

How many employees do you have currently globally? What is the expansion plan regarding staff count as the user base grows? We have 180 employees globally. Like any growing business we will expand as the need arises.